Most cellular networks such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Global Service Mobile (GSM) networks support data services in addition to standard telephony based services. Short Messaging Service (SMS) and Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) are data centric services available on many cellular networks. Data networks, such as MobiTex™, Datatac™, as well as advanced networks such as General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Enhanced Data for GSM Enhancement (EDGE) and 1X that overlay cellular networks, allow an appropriately configured mobile device to offer data services such as e-mail, web browsing, as well as SMS and Multimedia messaging service (MMS) messaging, and WAP data sessions.
Communications events include telephone calls, both sent and received, SMS messages both sent and received, e-mail correspondences both sent and received, and wireless application protocol sessions, among other data based transactions. Each communications event has at least two parties, the user of the mobile device and at least one correspondent. Each correspondent can have multiple contact addresses, such a work phone number, a home phone number, a mobile phone number, an SMS address, and a plurality of email addresses.
Mobile devices were originally intended to provide telephony services, and have, with the addition of data centric features, become complex to operate. The user interfaces currently available for viewing the history of communications events on a mobile device, typically only enable a user to view a history of one type of communications events, or a subset thereof, and from that history view the contents of a communications event. This makes sense in a voice only environment, but the addition of data services has exposed this interface paradigm as insufficient.
FIG. 1 illustrates a user interface 10 of the prior art. User interface 10 displays a notification 12 that a new message, such as an e-mail or SMS message has been received. The user of the mobile device is presented with the option to either exit the notification 14, or read the received message 16. This user interface does not permit the user to view the context in which the received message should be interpreted.
FIG. 2 illustrates a second user interface of the prior art 18. User interface 18 illustrates a list of recent telephone calls. Once again the user is presented with the option to exit 14, and additionally is given the option to place a call 22 to one of the recent callers, or to delete 20 a caller from the list of recent calls. Call lists of this type provide either separate lists of sent and received calls, or provide an integrated list of sent at received calls.
Presently, when a mobile device receives an incoming communications event, such as an SMS message, the only information provided to the user is that an SMS message has been received. This notification may indicate the originating SMS address. The user can then either view the SMS message, or scroll through a collective in-box of SMS messages to determine the last SMS message received from the same originating address. If the user wishes to view the last SMS message sent to the party originating the incoming SMS message, the user must check the SMS out box on the mobile device. Additionally, if the user would like to check to see when the last call made to the SMS originating address, or received from the originating SMS address occurred on, the user must check either the incoming or outgoing call logs. If email services are integrated in the mobile device, an additional list must be examined. This provides a plurality of different lists that a user must examine to determine the communications event history concerning a correspondent. If a correspondent has multiple contact addresses, viewing all communications events with the correspondent is further complicated.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a method and system for handling communications events in a manner that provides the user of a mobile device with the context of the communications event through a presentation of the communications event history associated with a given correspondent.